EnVision Summit offers innovation in family-friendly format

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The EnVision Summit is being held at the El Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico, and was created by physicians to support and empower leaders in an innovative format while being one of the most family friendly conferences in the field.

This year, the EnVision Summit will feature an optometry program for the first time, to go alongside the existing ophthalmology program. Sessions will be designed for optometrists and ophthalmologists alike, with some for both. Multiple sessions will feature presentations from both MDs and ODs.

Bonnie An Henderson, MD, founder and program director, stated this is the go-to meeting for those who want multi-specialty information.

“A lot of times you'll have a retina meeting or glaucoma meeting, but that's really what you're going to hear,” Henderson said. “If you want to go to a meeting where within the same room or 2 rooms, you really can get a wide range of information that you can really educate yourself, you're really going to get great multi-specialty education at this meeting in one place.”

Henderson also talked about the family friendly aspect of the EnVision meeting, stating that organizers “walk the walk, we don't just talk the talk” when creating an inclusive environment.

“Not only do a lot of the people bring their spouses or their children, but they're actually incorporated into the day,” Henderson explained. “This meeting is entirely different where the children are invited and the spouses are invited to participate, and [children] get to see their parents speak, which is so great.”

Eva Kim, MD, who oversees organizing the cataract and refractive portion of the meeting, also commented on the family-friendly nature of the meeting.

“I find that a lot of the attendees and speakers take the opportunity to bring their families. It has a mellow, relaxed nature about it,” said Kim. “I've been to some conferences that tried to combine both, and you almost feel like sometimes the presentations are just not as academically on the forefront or clinically on the forefront. I love the combination, the strength, of both [at EnVision]. Being social, bringing your family, relaxing, and getting updated.”

In regard to the cataract and refractive section, Kim stated it will focus on “what's new and what's coming.”

“The addition of an optometry program came from demand by optometrists as they “didn’t have anything like [EnVision],” said Henderson. “They don't actually have meetings that are run by women.”

When creating the programs, Henderson said they tried to create something that was concurrent, but distinct from one another since optometrists and ophthalmologists have different issues they handle. The meeting aims to target the appropriate topics for the appropriate audiences, according to Henderson.

Crossover does happen however, especially in topics like glaucoma and co-management with cataract surgeons who co-manage with optometrist partners.

Kim fits into that group, as she said there is 6 ophthalmologists and 5 optometrists in her team and will be on a panel regarding co-management. She stated she is eager to share how being a surgeon with referring optometrists works for her.

Kim stated she is “hoping that the optometry section for those ophthalmologists who maybe have a different attitude towards optometrists, kind of allows people to meet face to face and have discussions and can better those attitudes and perceptions about each other.”

A comprehensive schedule of the ophthalmology agenda and optometry agenda can be found online, and registration is still available online to those who wish to attend the event.